Review - Sofirn H05B Headlamp

[EBuff75]

Sofirn H05B Headlamp - 5/5
 
This week, Sofirn sent me an email offer for this headlamp at a steep discount (ended up being just over $13 with tax, and I received same-day shipping from Amazon!).  I couldn't pass up the price, so I went ahead with the order.

The light is bare-bones.  It came in a brown box, with just the light, a 3000mah 18650 battery, headband, and a short USB-C charging cord.  That's it.  There were no instructions, but the basic functionality is easy to figure out.  Some of the additional modes, not so much (see mode list below).
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The light is very floody, although there is a hot spot in the middle (the edges of which are soft though, so it's not an abrupt transition).  It fully illuminated my basement rec room, but as I dropped the modes down, I did find that I needed to aim it downward to get enough spill to see where I was walking.  The light itself feels fairly sturdy and is IP66 rated for water intrusion.  It is also fairly light weight, and didn't move around much even when I shook my head to test it.

There is onboard charging via a hidden USB-C port.  Just twist the end with the button until the port is exposed.  Sofirn claims 5hrs to recharge the included battery, which might be generous.  It seemed very slow just to top off and might go faster if you remove the battery and charge in a standalone battery charger.  When charging, there is a light in the button which glows red and when it is done, the light switches to green.

The UI is a bit confusing, but after some experimenting (and watching several videos) I think that I've got it all:

·       Long press from off – moonlight (must long-press again to turn back off)
·       Short press from off – white light (memory mode from last use)
   o   Short press again – red light (memory mode from last use)
·       While in white light mode:
   o   Long-press to scroll through the outputs, 1 through 5
   o   If the light is left in any normal white mode for more than a few seconds, a single press turns it off
   o   Double-click to enter Turbo
          §  Double-click in Turbo to go to Strobe
          §  Double-click in Strobe to go to SOS
          §  Double-click in SOS to go to Beacon
          §  Single click to return to last used white light mode
·       While in red light mode:
   o   Long-press to scroll through the outputs, 1 through 3
   o   If the light is left in any normal red mode for more than a few seconds, a single press turns it off
   o   Double-click to get red Strobe
          §  Double-click in red Strobe to get Red/White flashing (aka "Party Mode")
          §  Single click to return to last used red light mode

The headband is comfortable and where it runs through the holder for the light, it forms a pad so that the plastic isn't directly against your head. I found it to be quite comfortable, although I would have preferred if it had a top strap for better stability.  The light just clicks into the base where it can be turned up / down as needed (the body of the light has grooves in it which click on a tab in the base). 

The light does get very warm when used in the higher output modes.  After just a few minutes, mine was reading 124F (51C) on the body of the light (pretty much universal anywhere on it), although the pad on the back remained at just 82F (28C).  So you might be fine to wear it, but watch your fingers when you try to adjust it, or click the button!

Sofirn doesn't report run times or outputs (other than what is an extremely conservative max output claim of 1200 lumens), but several reviews did their own testing and produced fairly consistent results.  Here is what a YouTube review claimed as the outputs:

White light lumens
o   Moonlight – not measured, but I would guess 60-80
o   Level 1 – 110
o   Level 2 – 215
o   Level 3 – 425
o   Level 4 – 955
o   Level 5 – 1460
o   Turbo – 2360
Red light lumens
o   Level 1 – 35
o   Level 2 – 62
o   Level 3 – 110

As you can see from these numbers, the turbo output is almost double what Sofirin states is the output, which makes me think they may have been referring to the high (level 5) output of the light.  I don't have any detail on run time, nor could I find any reviews that listed any test data.  When using Turbo, there is a hard step-down after it has run for about a minute, down to whichever mode was in memory from last use.  You can reactivate Turbo by turning the light off and back on.

The button for the light is on the end, which isn't my favorite design for a headlamp, although it is quite common.  Having the button on the end requires you to hold the light in place while you click it, otherwise the light will just move away from you.  The button is rubber and has a nice feel to it when you click it, although I did find that getting a consistent double-click can be a bit tricky (although this may be due, again, to the button being on the end of the light).  For me, the easiest way to click it was to span the whole light with my fingers so that I could hold the far end in place when pressing the button.

Conclusion:  This would make a very good general use light, especially if you are looking for a headlamp that has red light to preserve night vision.  The red light is bright enough that I was able to see my entire rec room quite clearly and even on the lowest mode, was almost too bright for close-up tasks.  Neither the white or red lights have a lot of throw, but for walking, working in the yard or a camp site, or even doing repairs around the house, this would work quite well.  When you factor in the price, this is a great deal for a powerful headlamp. 

5/5 (at this price point)

[EBuff75]

A few things I forgot to mention:

The white light is very white-blue, probably in the 6000-6500K range

The red light is more focused and spot-like than the white light is.  There is still a fair amount of spill, but the center hot-spot is much more pronounced with the red light.

Because of the low-cost, this would also make a good loaner light, or one that you're planning to just stick in a bag and forget about.  (18650 batteries are fairly good at holding a charge for a long time)

[Moab]

Where can we get it? Do you know of any universal head band options in other colors?

Great review - as always. You always do such a great job with your reviews!!!!!

[Moab]

Just a follow up. It's $29.99 on Amazon. But several other models look exactly like it. But I have not read the specs. Lots of replacement black bands. One for $7.99. I'm going to add this to my watch list. And see if they offer any open boxes. A headlamp is something I only have cheap versions of. Even at $30 this is a very reasonable price. And I am becoming standard with 18650s. And the red option is essential. 

If you discover any general run times. Let us know?

[EBuff75]

Where can we get it? Do you know of any universal head band options in other colors?

Great review - as always. You always do such a great job with your reviews!!!!!

Thanks!  The pricing that I got was a special offer as a repeat customer, but here are the general links to it on Amazon and on their website.  

Right now it's available on their website for $19.99, but there's a 50% off code (WEEH35B) that brings it down to $9.99 + shipping (which for me is $3.99) + $1.50 import fee (tariff), for a total of $15.48.  If you order $30 or more, the shipping is free.  Apparently there's a new model number for the headlamp as well: H35B

Amazon:  https://a.co/d/0vG211G
Sofirn:  https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/h35b-led-headlamp

[Moab]

Are their batteries worth buying? I was gonna get a couple

[EBuff75]

Are their batteries worth buying? I was gonna get a couple

I haven't had any trouble with the ones that have come with any of the lights that I've purchased previously; they're all still working just fine.  I'm not really sure how they measure up to other brands, but from what I've seen online, they're pretty good.

My Sofirn BLF-LT1 lantern uses four of those same 3000mah 18650 batteries and that thing has been a tank.  I just used it during a power outage this week for around 6hrs straight at medium output and it charged back up in less than an hour (using the onboard charging) once I got back home.  All of mine are the black with gold printing. 

Are they as good as Samsung or Molicel?  Probably not, but they don't cost as much either.  They seem to be reliable and Sofirn doesn't exaggerate the specs on them like some companies do (I'm thinking of anything with "fire" somewhere in their name).  I did find that people were able to cause the battery fail during testing, but that was rather extreme (trying to pull over 20 amps from it), and the protection on the batteries worked properly, blowing the fuse before anything worse happened.

[Moab]

Are their batteries worth buying? I was gonna get a couple

I haven't had any trouble with the ones that have come with any of the lights that I've purchased previously; they're all still working just fine.  I'm not really sure how they measure up to other brands, but from what I've seen online, they're pretty good.

My Sofirn BLF-LT1 lantern uses four of those same 3000mah 18650 batteries and that thing has been a tank.  I just used it during a power outage this week for around 6hrs straight at medium output and it charged back up in less than an hour (using the onboard charging) once I got back home.  All of mine are the black with gold printing. 

Are they as good as Samsung or Molicel?  Probably not, but they don't cost as much either.  They seem to be reliable and Sofirn doesn't exaggerate the specs on them like some companies do (I'm thinking of anything with "fire" somewhere in their name).  I did find that people were able to cause the battery fail during testing, but that was rather extreme (trying to pull over 20 amps from it), and the protection on the batteries worked properly, blowing the fuse before anything worse happened.

This is a great deal. I'm gonna buy one headlamp and a couple of those bags. 

Thanks man. This is great! Really appreciate you.

[Moab]

We should mention these ship from China. I didn't realize. But having them ship to another address. As I'm leaving the country in 2 weeks.

Just a heads up to anyone reading this. But that's how you get these kinds of discounts.

I ordered the headlamp and two extra batteries for $30.12.

I just noticed it comes with a battery too. So $30 for headlamp and 3 batteries. 

[Moab]

Actually shipping time quoted by email is 7-15 days. That's standard from China. Not bad at all.